Saint Sharbel Maronite Catholic Church Las Vegas

10325 RANCHO

DESTINO RD.

LAS VEGAS NV

89183

PHONE:

702-616-6902

FAX:

702-616-4032.

stsharbel.lv@

gmail.com

www.stsharbel

lasvegas.org

St. Sharbel Pray for us!

February 2020

Sunday of the Commemorations of the Priests

Our Services HOLY MASSES

DAILY: Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. English

SATURDAY VIGIL: 4:30 p.m. English

SUNDAY: 9:30 a.m. English

& 11:30 AM Arabic/Aramaic/English

1st Sunday : 4:30pm

Rosario y la Misa en Español

2nd Sunday: 4:30 pm

Rosary & Tagalog Mass

Sunday Catechism @ 8 am

(Classes are Sept – May)

1st SUNDAY 9:30 a.m. & 11:30am

Youth Mass

Page

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To Keep a Lamp Burning we have

to Keep Putting Oil in it. M. Theresa

Index

Church Events

Sunday of the Priests

News from our Leaders

Maronite Priesthood

Beautiful Faces & Places

Yearly 2nd Collection Schedule

Youngest Bishop

Season of Lent

Community Life Announcements

Filipino News

Life of Saint Maroun

Holy Mass Intentions

Page 2

He first loved us.

February 2020 Page 2

He first loved us.

Sunday of the Priests

Reading: 1 Timothy 4:6-16

Gospel: Luke 12:42-48

Christ has established the priesthood for His Church and entrusted

priests with great responsibilities. The priest is given the task of caring

for the spiritual needs of the people of His parish. On this Sunday the

people of God come together to pray for those who were entrusted with

the Divine Mystery and to carry on with the salvific work of Christ.

Priests are called the salt of the earth and the light and the presence of

Christ among the community. He is the faithful servant, and the good

shepherd. Priests are the image and hands of Jesus Christ.

Michael Quoist the famous writer said: “Its hard to be alone, alone

before everyone, alone before the world, alone before suffering, death,

and sin. Jesus said to the priest: my son, you are not alone, I am with

you, I am you, to continue My incarnation and My redemption. Out of

all eternity, I chose you, I need your hands to bless, I need your lips to

speak, I need your body to suffer, I need your heart to love, to save.

My son, stay with Me. The priest will answer: ‘Jesus, here I am, Lord,

here is my body, my heart, my soul, my youth, all my life.”

LET US PRAY:

O Lord, we pray for all the priests

who served upon Your Holy Altar,

died in the faith of Your Holy Church. Who

served us with fidelity in all the world, and

we ask You to give us many more vocations.

Amen.

“I will clothe

its priests with

blessing;

its faithful

shall shout

for joy.”

Psalm 132:16

A Life Vowed to God

By a series of happy coincidences, today the

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time is replaced

by the Feast of the Presentation of the Baby

Jesus in the Temple, which is also the “World

Day for Consecrated Life.” We keep also the

secular observance called “Pro Life Sunday.”

The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple

invites us to focus on Jesus, the source of our

life and the Light of all Nations. This feast

reminds us of our own consecration to the

Lord on the day of our baptism. Like Jesus,

we too, are expected to live in an attitude of

constant self-offering in the service of the

Kingdom. Like Jesus, we too are expected to

appreciate life, do our best to promote it in all

its potentials, and to protect it from whatever

endangers or destroys it. In this Eucharist, as

we observe Pro-Life Sunday, let us renew our

commitment to love life and to make amends

for all the profanations and attacks it

constantly suffers

Page 3 Good News from our Leader February 2020

OUR HOLY FATHER POPE FRANCIS Receives

President of Republic of Iraq

On January 25, 2020, the Holy Father Francis received in

audience His Excellency Mr. Barham Salih, President of

the Republic of Iraq, who subsequently met with His

Eminence Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin,

accompanied by His Excellency Archbishop Paul Richard

Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States.

During the cordial discussions, the good bilateral relations

were evoked, and the parties focused on the challenges

the country currently faces and on the importance of

promoting stability and the reconstruction process,

encouraging the path of dialogue and the search for

suitable solutions in favor of citizens and with respect for

national sovereignty.

Attention then turned to the importance of preserving the

historical presence of Christians in the country, of which

they are an integral part, and the significant contribution

they bring to the reconstruction of the social fabric,

highlighting the need to guarantee their security and a

place in the future of Iraq.

Maronite Bishops to Lebanese Politicians: Do Not Drag Country

into Conflicts Stirring Middle East

‘Freedom has always been…in the heart of the existence of this small country’

Lebanese politicians must do everything possible

to strengthen Lebanon’s national cohesion and

keep the country safe from the new winds of war

that are stirring the entire region. The Bishops of

the Maronite Church, who met on Wednesday 8

January in the patriarchal see of Bkerkè, under the

presidency of Patriarch Bechara Boutros Rai, for

their traditional monthly meeting.

In the message issued at the end of the meeting,

among other things, the Maronite Bishops

expressed concern about the new escalation of

violence in the Middle East after the attack with

which the US apparatuses killed Iranian general

Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad. In the text, reported

by Fides News Agency, members of the Maronite

episcopate have called on the international

community and the governments of nations to do

everything possible to prevent further turmoil, in

an area of the world which is unstable and

tormented by conflicts in recent decades.

Finally, the parties discussed the various conflicts and

grave humanitarian crises that afflict the region,

underlining the importance of the efforts made with the

support of the international community to re-establish

trust and peaceful co-existence.

The Bishops also recalled the words with which

Pope Francis, in his Christmas message “Urbi et

Orbi”, urged the Lebanese people to rediscover

“their vocation to be a message of freedom and

harmonious coexistence for all”. “Freedom,”

added the Bishops, “has always been, over the

centuries, in the heart of the existence of this

small country, in a Levant that always moves

away from it, making deleterious choices for

everyone”.

Page 4 February 2020 Good News for a change

Priesthood in the Syriac Maronite Tradition

Written by Chorbishop Seely Beggiani

The Mystery of Priesthood, instituted by

Christ, the High Priest, at the Last Supper

and handed on through the apostles and their

successors, the bishops, manifests a

continuation of the priesthood of the OT

tradition.

The Holy Spirit bestows spiritual powers

upon bishops, priests and deacons to preach

the Gospel, to worship, and to serve the

Mysteries to God’s people. This earthly

priesthood is an image of the unending

heavenly priesthood of Christ. Its main goals

are to serve the altar and the Mysteries, and

to build up the people of God.

In the Maronite Church, the ordination of the

deacon, priest and bishop unfolds in a unique

way. All three ordinations take place within

the divine liturgy after the bishop and priests

have received communion and before its

distribution to the congregation. The bishop,

standing in front of the altar with the Sacred

Mysteries placed near the front as well, then

imposes his left hand on the Eucharist and his

right hand on the candidate’s head while

invoking the Holy Spirit. This Maronite

Ordination ritual, with its timing unique to

the Maronite tradition, reveals a profound

link between the Eucharist and the

priesthood. For the same Holy Spirit, who

overshadowed the Mysteries, now

overshadows the candidate through the

imposition of the bishop’s hands.

For a priestly ordination, the bishop, after

vesting the newly ordained minister, and

anointing his hands with Myron, presents the

new priest with three symbols of his priestly

ministry. With each of these symbols the

newly ordained priest is led in procession by

two brother priests around the church.

First, while Incensing the community the

priest is reminded of his ministry to forgive

sins through the mystery of reconciliation

and to lead the congregation in worship.

Second, while carrying the Gospel Book the

priest is reminded of his prophetic ministry

of proclaiming the good news.

Third, and perhaps the most compelling

symbol, is the placement of the chalice,

containing the Eucharist, upon the priest’s

head as a reminder to dispense the Mysteries

on the life-journey for the forgiveness of sins

and eternal life.

The Mystery of Orders, like the Mystery of

Crowning, celebrates the divine calling, and

divinizes and strengthens those who commit

themselves to these Mysteries. The origin,

identity and destiny of every human being is

divine; for we are made by God, in his image

and likeness. Our sacred vocation is to love

and serve God, revealed in Jesus, by the

Spirit in his Church. The context of this

divine calling is lived out in various ways;

for some in marriage and family life, for

others in ordained ministries and religious

vows.

Page 5 Good News for a change February 2020

Beautiful Faces & Places

Congratulations to all the kids

and their Parents who were baptized

in the month of January.

We pray to all of the lives that

were lost in that tragic accident and we ask our

Lord to give Peace and

Serenity to all their families.

May they rest in Peace with

Our Lord Jesus.

Page 6 Good News for a change February 2020

Page 7 February 2020

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February 2020 Page 8

Good News for a change ASH MONDAY (Eastern)

The Season of Great Lent is a time to fast in order to be

able to regain our vision which has been distorted by our

inordinate desires, personal sins, bad habits, etc… It is a

time to regain sight: to see the face of our Lord and the

needs of our neighbors. It is like a trip on a boat from one

side to another side, from old life to new life, from death to

life, from dark to light.

On Ash Monday, the Maronites in Lebanon and the whole

world gathered at churches and received the sign of the

cross with ashes on their front. When the priest makes the

sign of the cross on your front, he says, “Remember that

you are dust and to dust you shall return”.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent. It is

a season of penance, reflection, and fasting which prepares us

for Christ's Resurrection on Easter Sunday, through which we

attain redemption.

Why we receive the ashes

Following the example of the Nine vites, who did penance in

sackcloth and ashes, our foreheads are marked with ashes to

humble our hearts and reminds us that life passes away on

Earth. We remember this when we are told

"Remember, Man is dust, and unto dust you shall return."

Ashes are a symbol of penance made sacramental by the

blessing of the Church, and they help us develop a spirit of

humility and sacrifice.

The distribution of ashes comes from a ceremony of ages past.

Christians who had committed grave faults performed public

penance. On Ash Wednesday, the Bishop blessed the hair shirts

which they were to wear during the forty days of penance, and

sprinkled over them ashes made from the palms from the

previous year. Then, while the faithful recited the Seven

Penitential Psalms, the penitents were turned out of the church

because of their sins -- just as Adam, the first man, was turned

out of Paradise because of his disobedience. The penitents did

not enter the church again until Maundy Thursday after having

won reconciliation by the toil of forty days' penance and

sacramental absolution. Later, all Christians, whether public or

secret penitents, came to receive ashes out of devotion. In

earlier times, the distribution of ashes was followed by a

penitential procession.

The Ashes

The ashes are made from the blessed palms used in the Palm

Sunday celebration of the previous year. The ashes are

christened with Holy Water and are scented by exposure to

incense. While the ashes symbolize penance and contrition, they

are also a reminder that God is gracious and merciful to those

who call on Him with repentant hearts. His Divine mercy is of

utmost importance during the season of Lent, and the Church

calls on us to seek that mercy during the entire Lenten season

with reflection, prayer and penance.

Fasting to Feasting

Lent is a time for fasting but also a season for joyous feasting!

During Lent, the Church calls on us to fast from certain things

and feast on others.

For example:

Fast from judging others..

.feast on Christ dwelling in them.

Fast from emphasis on differences...

feast on the unity of life.

Fast from apparent darkness... feast on the reality of light.

Fast from thoughts of illness...feast on God's healing power.

Fast from words that pollute..

.feast on phrases that purify.

Fast from discontent...

feast on gratitude.

Fast from anger...

feast on patience.

Fast from pessimism...

feast on optimism.

Fast from worry...

feast on divine order.

Fast from complaining...

feast on appreciation.

Fast from negatives...feast on affirmatives.

Fast from unrelenting pressures...

feast on unceasing prayer.

Fast from hostility...

feast on nonresistance.

Fast from bitterness..

.feast on forgiveness.

Fast from self concern...

feast on compassion for others.

Fast from personal anxiety...

feast on eternal truth.

Fast from discouragement...

feast on hope.

Fast from facts that depress...

feast on truths that up lift.

Fast from lethargy...

feast on enthusiasm.

Fast from suspicion...

feast on truth.

Fast from thoughts that weaken...

feast on promises that inspire.

Fast from shadows of sorrow...

feast on sunlight of serenity.

Fast from idle gossip...

feast on purposeful silence.

SEASON OF THE GREAT LENT

Page 9 Good News for a change February 2020

Community Life & Events

1. TUESDAY WITH FR. NADIM :6:00 P.M. Rosary, Benediction & blessing with the

healing oil of St. Sharbel.

2. GOD OUR FATHER DEVOTIONS :Sunday, February 2 after the 9:30 Mass

3. MONTHLY SPANISH MASS :Sunday, February 2 at 5:00 PM & Rosary at 4:30 PM.

4. 1st FRIDAY YOUTH GROUP : Friday, February 7 @ 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

5. St. Maroun FEBRUARY 9 :Feast Day. Shawarma Sandwiches will be sold after all

Sunday Masses 9:30 am & 11:30 am.

6. MONTHLY TAGALOG MASS : Sunday, February 9th at 5:00 PM & Rosary at 4.30 PM.

7. SUNDAY & WEEK OF ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED – February 15 & 16 Masses.

Please fill out envelopes with names and place it on the Altar.

8. NATIONAL YOUTH RETREAT

March 13-15, 2020 in Riverside, CA.

Fee is $170 per child

Ages 12 to Senior in high school

Includes accommodations, food and planned activities.

Registration must be completed on-line by February 7

www.maroniteyouth.org

Please inform the office that you registered your child.

9. RAFFLE TICKETS – 1 Ticket for $3 or 2 Tickets for $5.

1st Prize – Silver Picture of Our Lady of GUADALUPE

2nd Prize – Wall Rosary

3rd Prize – Medjugorje Picture

Personal Injury Law Firm

Donald P. Paradiso, Esq. Trial Attorney

Ladah Law Building Phone702.252.0055

517 South 3rd St. Fax 702.248.0055

Las Vegas, NV 89101 donald@ladahlaw.com

Spot Available For Confession

Before Mass

Page 10

Good News for a change February 2020

FILIPINO NEWS

Church Leaders in Philippines Bid Farewell

to Cardinal Tagle

‘We would like to tell the world that he is the gift of the Filipinos to the universal Church and to Rome’

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is the Philippine’s “gift” to

the universal Church, the head of the Catholic hierarchy

said Sunday as they bid goodbye to the outgoing Manila

archbishop, reported CBCP News on January 28, 2020.

The Cardinal Archbishop of Manila is the new Prefect of

the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The

appointment of Pope Francis was announced Sunday,

December 8, 2019. The current Prefect, Fernando Filoni,

assumes the post of Grand Master of the Order of the

Holy Sepulcher in place of Cardinal Edwin Frederick

O’Brien, who resigned in April 2019 and turned 80.

CBCP President, Archbishop Romulo Valles, while

addressing the farewell ceremony, said that there are

more reasons to be joyful than to be sad on Tagle’s new

mission.

“We would like to tell the world that he is the gift of the

Filipinos to the universal Church and to Rome,” he said,

drawing applause from other bishops.

“We are sad but I think that you will agree with me that

one of the wonderful gifts that the Church in the

Philippines (has) is in the person of Cardinal Chito,”

Archbishop Valles said.

The Davao archbishop also regarded the cardinal as the

country’s “national flag carrier” who carries the faith of

Filipinos to the world.

“It is our prayer that the Lord will continue to bless you

and keep you joyful in your difficult task,” he said.

The farewell dinner was held as more than 90 bishops

from all over the country gathered for their plenary

assembly in Manila over the weekend.

Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, CBCP Vice President, was

also all praises of the cardinal.

The two were together in San Jose Seminary although

Tagle was one year ahead of David.

The bishop recalled that one of the things they always

look forward to as students of philosophy was the

review classes facilitated by Tagle “because he could

simplify complicated thoughts”.

“That was the rare gift of Cardinal Chito,” David said.

“His brightness seemed to brighten other people.”

For his part, Cardinal Tagle admitted still having

confusion in his heart and mind now that he will leave

the country for a new mission.

One time, Tagle shared that he was in a chapel to

“present this dilemma” and in the end, “the clincher is

where can you follow Jesus—the poor, the crucified.”

“And it pointed me to that path,” he said. “So I really

cried and cried there in the chapel but there was peace

that the cross was the main criteria in the end.”

At one part of the gathering, the bishops surrounded

Cardinal Tagle and sung “You’ll never walk alone.”

On Monday, several bishops, priests, nuns, and laypeople

prayed over Tagle as he prepares to leave for his new

Vatican post.

During the Thanksgiving Mass at the Manila Cathedral,

the cardinal knelt before the congregation as they raised

their hands towards him while praying.

In December 2019, Pope Francis appointed Tagle as

Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of

Peoples, a powerful department at the Roman Curia.

Page 11

Good News for a change February 2020

ST. MAROUN JUBILEE OF HIS DEATH: OUR PATRON SAINT AND FATHER

+410 AD - 2020 THE LIFE OF SAINT MAROUN

BACKGROUND

St. Maroun, born in the middle of the 4th century was a priest who

later became a hermit, retiring to a mountain of Taurus near Antioch.

His holiness and miracles attracted many followers, and drew

attention throughout the empire. St. John of Chrysostom sent him a

letter around 405 AD expressing his great love and respect asking

St. Maroun to pray for him.

THE MARONITE MOVEMENT

St.Maroun is considered the Father of the spiritual and monastic movement now called the Maronite

Church. This movement had a profound influence on Northern Syria and Lebanon. Saint Maroun

spent all of his life on a mountain in the region of Cyrrhus in Syria. It is believed that the place was

called "Kefar-Nabo" on the mountain of Ol-Yambos, making it the cradle of the Maronite movement.

The Maronite movement reached Lebanon when St. Maroun's first disciple Abraham of Cyrrhus who

was called the Apostle of Lebanon, realized that paganism was thriving in Lebanon, so he set out to

convert the pagans to Christians by introducing them to the way of St. Maroun. The followers of St.

Maroun, both monks and laity, always remained faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church.

SPIRITUALITY

St. Maroun's way was deeply monastic with emphasis on the spiritual and ascetic aspects of living.

For Saint Maroun, all was connected to God and God was connected to all. He did not separate the

physical and spiritual world and actually used the physical world to deepen his faith and spiritual

experience with God.

St. Maroun embraced the quiet solitude of the mountain life. He lived his life in open air exposed to

the forces of nature such as sun, rain, hail and snow. His extraordinary desire to come to know Gods

presence in all things, allowed St. Maroun to transcend such forces and discover that intimate union

with God. He was able to free himself from the physical world by his passion and fervor for prayer

and enter into a mystical relationship of love with God.

MISSION

St. Maroun was a mystic who started this new ascetic-spiritual method that attracted many people in

Syria and Lebanon to become his disciples. Accompanying his deeply spiritual and ascetic life, he

was a zealous missionary with a passion to spread the message of Christ by preaching it to all he met.

He sought not only to cure the physical ailments that people suffered, but had a great quest for

nurturing and healing the "lost souls" of both pagans and Christians of his time.

This missionary work came to fruition when in the mountains of Syria, St. Maroun was able to

convert a pagan temple into a Christian Church. This was to be the beginning of the conversion of

Paganism to Christianity in Syria which would then influence and spread to Lebanon. After his death

in the year 410 AD, his spirit and teachings lived on through his disciples.

Page 12 Good News for a change February 2020

WEEKEND

Saturday 4:30pm Feb 1

Healing-Jeff Umbrasas

Sunday 9:30am Feb 2

+Feliza Empay

+ Brendo Caturay

Sunday 11:30 am

+Wedad Aboud (1 wk)

Sunday 4:30 pm Spanish

Todos Sacerdotes

DAILY 8AM

MONDAY Feb 3

First Responders

TUESDAY Feb 4

Healing of the Sick

WEDNESDAY Feb 5

Faithful Departed

THURSDAY Feb 6

Persecuted Christians

FRIDAY Feb 7

Unborn Babies

HOLY MASS INTENTIONS

PRAY FOR THE SICK

El Grupo Guadalupano

de la Iglesia de San Charbel

Te invita a que asistas a la

Misa y El Rosario que se

celebran el primer domingo

cada mes comenzado,

DIA: Domingo 2 de Febrero del 2020

HORA: Rosario 4:30pm Misa

DONDE: Iglesia Catolica de San

Charbel

10325 Rancho Destino Rd,

Las Vegas, NV 89183

Despues de la Misa te invitamos a que

nos acompañes a una pequeña recepcion

donde compartiremos: café, postres, y

bocadillos con todos los asistentes.

Si tienes alguna duda communicate con:

Oficina de la Iglesia 702-616-6902

“We Pray for healing of all the people who were effected by the Coronavirus, may God heal them. We also, Pray for the people that lost their lives to this deadly virus,

May they rest in Peace.”